The Future: Book 1
by angelsfanfictions
Summary: Lily Evans finds a book in the libary followed by a letter. telling her to read the book along with a few other people. lily along with the maraudeurs and a few other people read and try to change the future.
1. Finding the Book

**Finding the Book**

Lily Evans was in the library studying for here potions test. She was looking for a book when she noticed a book on the shelf that looked new. It was not old and dirty. She picked up the book and look at the title it read '**Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.' ** Potter, she wondered if this book had to do anything to do with James. She and James have become friends since both becoming Head Boy and Girl. She opened the book and a letter was in the front page.

Dear Lily,

You are wondering what a new book is doing in Hogwarts library, well this book is from the future. Yer the future. I want you to read this because you can change many lives by reading it. I need you to get a few people before you start reading.

People you need to get:

James Potter

Remus Lupin

Sirius Black

Alice Drew

Frank Longbottom

Arthur Weasley

Molly Weasley

Under no circumstances are you to get Peter Pettigrew. If you do the book will disappear .

Hope you can change the Future.

From

A.S.P, J.S.P, L.L.P, R.M.W, H.B.W and T.R.L

Lily was in shock but she decided she will find these people and read this book. Lily first decided to go to head dorms to see if James was there. When she got there James, Sirius and Remus were there.

"Hey Lily" James said. "Hi James, can I speak to you for a minute." Lily asked, "sure lil." James followed Lily into her room. "umm I found this book in the library and I had a letter, here" Lily passed James the letter, he read it and was stunned for a while. "Well we better get these people, met me here in half an hour" James said and let the room.

Half an hour later James had everyone together in Head Dorms. James, Sirius and Remus were sitting on the couch by the fire, Lily was sitting in the arm chair, Arthur and Molly were in the love seat and Alice and Frank were sitting on the couch facing James and the boys.

"well we better start reading then" James said. "who wants to start" "I will" Remus said. He grabbed the book and opened it and read **"The Boy who lived"**


	2. The Boy who Lived

**AN: thank you for all the reviews. Sorry the chapter is so late. I had no internet for like 3 weeks so I could just up load now. So here we go.**

**Hope you like **

**xx**

**Chapter 1**

**-The Boy Who Lived-**

"**The Boy Who Lived"**

Said Remus. "Who's the boy who lived" asked Sirius, "well if you let us read we will find out, wont we" Lily said. "Right" replied Sirius. "Remus go on" Lily said. Remus nodded.

**Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, **

Where have I heard that name before Lily thought.

**Were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. **

"You're welcome" Sirius said. "Black" Lily gave Sirius have look. "Sorry" Sirius said. Remus started again,

**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. **

Sirius snorted.

**Mr Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. **

"What are drills" Sirius asked. "Arrh they are a Muggle Tool Sirius. You took muggle studies how can you not know" Lily said. "I only took it to annoy my parents, and thanks". "No worries."

**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache.**

"Handsome" Sirius said. No one said anything. Lily thought she has seen this man before.

**Mrs Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbours. **

Everyone laughed at this.

**The Dursley had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

"Cocky much" said James. "Yer with his name Dudley really" Sirius said. "Both of you shhh" said Lily, they both shut up.

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters. **

"What's wrong with the Potters" James said. "Yer what's wrong with the Potters" said Sirius "well if we keep on reading we will find out" said Alice for the first time. Lily nodded for Remus to start and he did.

**Mrs Potter was **

"James gets Married Whoop" Sirius said "Sirius shut up" yelled James.

**Mrs Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband**

"Hey James is not good-for- nothing" said Sirius. "Sirius be quite" Lily said.

**Were as unDursleyish**

"Is that even a word" said Arthur "no I don't think it is" said Molly. Remus continued

**As it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what neighbours would say if the Potters arrived in their street. The Dursleys knew the Potters had a small son too, but they had never seen him.**

"That is mean" said Lily.

**This boy was another reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

**When Mr and Mrs Dursley woke on the dull, grey Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work and Mrs Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled screaming Dudley into his highchair. **

"Brat" said Sirius. "Sirius" said Lily as she thought that sounded just like her sister.

**None of them notice a large tawny owl flutter past the window. At half-past eight, Mr Dursley picked up his brief case, pecked Mrs Dursley on the cheek and tried to kiss Dudley goodbye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. 'Little tyke' chortled Mr Dursley **everyone laughed.

**As he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive. It was on the corner of the street that he first sign of something peculiar – a cat reading a map.**

"What?" asked Sirius. "Remus keep reading please" Lily said.

**For a second, Mr Dursley didn't realise what he had seen – then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight.**

"I bet that's Minnie" said Sirius "deal, 2 Gallons that it is not her" James said. "Deal"

"Who is Minnie?" asked Alice "Professor McGonagall" Sirius said like it was obvious. "But why do you call her Minnie?" asked Frank. "Cause that's what I call her. James calls her that to, don't you James?" said Sirius. "James I can't believe you" exclaimed Lily "you are head boy." "Sorry Lily" said James "whipped" Sirius said to Remus. "Remus please can you just read" said James. Remus nodded and began,

**What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back.**

"Hahaha so Minnie" exclaimed Sirius. "BLACK shut up" yelled Lily. Sirius shut up.

**As Mr Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said **_**Privet Drive – **_**no, looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs. **

"Unless they were Minnie' yelled Sirius. Lily cast a silencing Charm on him. He stared to jump around with his arms in the air, until Lily cast a body binding curse on him, Sirius dropped to the floor. "Okay now that is done with can we carrying on with the book and sat back down in her chair. Remus began

**Mr Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove towards town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day. But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. people in clocks. **

"what's wrong with people in clocks that is usual" asked Frank. Lily replied "that is normal for our world but not for theirs" " oh ok then" said Frank.

**Mr Dursley couldn't beat people who dressed in funny clothes – the get ups you saw on young people! He supposed that this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of weirdos standing quite close by they were whispering excitedly together. Mr Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak!**

James went into a dais, Remus snapped he out of it.

**They nerve of him! But then it struck Mr Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt – these people were obviously collecting for something…yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on a few minutes later, Mr Dursley arrived at the Grunnings car park, his mind back on drills. Mr Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight,**

"How can we be so careless" said James. "I don't know said less, I was just thinking the same thing" said Lily. "Hum" said Remus and then kept on reading.

**though the people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen a owl even at night time. Mr Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl fee morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood until lunch**_** -**_**time, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakers opposite. He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the bakery. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This lot were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin.**

"Remus can you hold for a second" Lily asked, Remus nodded. "Sirius I will take the charms off you if you behave ok" Lily than took the Charms of him and Sirius started to jump around. "Sirius" yelled Lily pointing her wand at him, "I am warning you" Sirius sat down and did not say a word. "Sorry Remus" "that's alright Lily" replied Remus.

**It was son his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying. 'The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard-' '– yes, their son, Harry-' **

"What, what happened to my son" asked James in a worried voice. "James don't worry we will find out" said Lily with a smile on her face. James relaxed immediately. Remus began again…

**Mr Dursley stopped dead. **

"Yer his dead" said Sirius, "no Sirius it is just a saying" Lily said to Sirius "oh I knew that"

**Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone and had almost finished dialling his home number when he changed his mind.**

"Whip" everybody turned to the person who said that and were surprised to see it was Lily. "What?" she asked them, they just shook their heads and nodded to Remus to keep reading. But James had a smirk on his face

**He put the receiver back down and stroked him moustache, thinking… no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. He'd never even seen the boy. It might be Harvey. Or Harold. There was no point worrying Mrs Dursley, she always got upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her – if he'd had a sister like that…. But all the same those people in cloaks…. He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at 5 o'clock, he was still worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door. 'Sorry' he grunted, as the tiny man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr Dursley realised that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On contrary, his face split into a wide smile and said in a squeaky voice that made passers-by stare: ' Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!' **

Remus stopped reading, everything was quite for at least a minute, then Sirius said "his gone!" then got up and started dancing around singing "his gone, his gone" then James got up and everyone else except Lily. She was still sitting on the couch, then James went up to her and asked "hey Lily what's wrong?" "Oh nothing" Lily replied. James held out his hand to Lily and with his hesitation she took his hand. He started to spin her around and she started laughing. Everyone was like this for about 5 minutes when everyone was calmed down they sat back down in their original spots and Remus began…

**And the old man hugged Mr Dursley around the middle and walked off. Mr Dursley stood rooted on the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought that he called him a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to the car and set off home, hoping he was imaging things, that he never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination. As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw – and it didn't improve his mood- was the tabby cat he spotted that morning.. it was sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around the eyes. 'Shoo!" said Mr Dursley loudly. The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look.**

"that is so Minnie" said Sirius "how do you know that" asked Arthur "I see that look all the time" replied Sirius.

**Was this normal cat behaviour, Mr Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife. Mrs Dursley had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learnt a new word ('Shan't!'). Mr Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living-room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

'_**And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night ans are hardly ever seen in thr daylight, they have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern.'**_** The news reader allowed himself a grin. **_**'Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?' 'well Ted,' **_**said the weatherman**_**, 'I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers far apart as Kent, Yorkshire and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of rain I promised yesterday, they've has a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early – it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight.' **_

"whooh, I never knew that we could be so reckless' said Lily, "I know, we have never done anything like this" said James. Remus contented….

**Mr Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stairs all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the potters… Mrs Dursley came into the living-room carrying two cups of tea. It was good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. 'Er – Petunia**

Lily chocked "what did you just say. The name?" Remus replied " ahhh Petunia" "ohhh no no no no " said Lily Stammering. " ah Lil what's wrong" asked James. "Umm Petunia is my sisters name and she is dating a guy with the last name Dursley" said Lily quietly "so that's means James marries Lily" yelled Sirius. While the rest of the group and James were in shock. "I guess you aren't that bad then" said Lily to James with a smile on her face. And James smiled back. "let's keep on going on with the book" said Alice said with a smile on her face,

'**Er – Petunia, dear – you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?' As he expected, Mrs Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

At this Lily looked down and let a tear let slip from her eye. James got up and sat down next to Lily and held her while she cried. "I knew she did not like me, but I never thought she would do that" she said while James held her. "It's alright Lily, you have all us" said James. "Thanks guys, sorry for crying" everyone said no worries. "You can read now Remus" said Lily, James was about to get up when Lily held him back "please stay" "of Course" said James and sat back down. Lily leaned on James shoulder while he had an arm around her waist.

Remus started …

'**No' she said sharply. 'Why?' 'Funny stuff on the news' Mr Dursley mumbled. 'Owls … shotting stars… and there were a lot of funny-looking people intone today…' 'So?' snapped Mrs Dursley. 'Well, I just thought…maybe… it was something to do with… you know … her lot.' **

At this Lily looked down. "what do they mean by her crowd" asked Molly. "Witches and Wizards." Said Lily, James held her nodded for Remus to keep on reading and so Remus did.

**Mrs Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her that he'd heard the name **_**'Potter.' **_**He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, 'their son – he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?'**

' **I suppose so,' said Mrs Dursley stiffly.**

'**what's his name again? Howard, isn't it?'**

'**Harry. Nasty common name, if you ask me.'**

"hey I like that name" said Lily. "I like that name to, I will never name my child Howard." James said. "I will never let you name your child that" said Sirius. "And what say you got a say?" Lily asked playfully. "Well, I will be Godfather of course" Sirius said. "Sure you will padfoot, sure you will!" said James. "Remus can you keep on reading" said Alice and he nodded and began.

'**Oh, yes' said Mr Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. 'Yes, I quite agree.'**

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it was waiting for something.**

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… id it got out that they were related to a pair of – well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him or Mrs Dursley. The Potters knew very well he and Petunia thought about them and their kind… He couldn't see how ha and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on. He yawned and turned over. It couldn't affect them…**

**How very wrong he was.**

"Ok. What is happing?" asked James worried. "James Please can we just read?" asked Lily. "Sorry" said James and nodded for Remus to continue.

**Mr Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no signs of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, it's eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much quiver when a car door slammed in the next street, nor when two owls swopped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

**A man, appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cats tail twitches and its eyes narrowed.**

**Nothing about this man had ever seen Privet Drive. He was tall, thin and very old, judging by the sliver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt.**

"Professor Dumbledore" everyone shouted together. Everyone laughed at this and Remus began….

**He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak which swept the ground and high-heeled, buckle boots. His blue eyes were light, bright and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

"Told ya" said Sirius. "We all did Padfoot" said Remus and then started to read again.

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realise that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcomed. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he seem to realise he was being watched, because he looked at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other side of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered "I should have known.'**

"MINNIE' screamed Sirius, "James I win the bet." "They have not said it was here yet" James said. 'Hupf' everyone laughed.

**He found what he was looking for inside his pocket. It seemed to be a sliver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a pop. He clicked it again – the nest lamp flickered into the darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only light left in the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. **

**If anyone looked out their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street towards number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**

'**Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall.'**

"Yes, I was right, I was right." Sirius said. James handed Sirius his two Gallons "here, Remus can you continue please."

**He turned to smile the tabby, but it was gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had around its eyes. She, too, wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.**

'**How did you know it was me?" she asked.**

'**My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly.'**

'**You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day,' said Professor McGonagall.**

'**All day? When you could be celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feast parties on my way here.'**

'**Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right,' she said impatiently.**

'**You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no – even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news.' **

**She jerked her head back to the Dursley's dark living room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls … shooting stars … Well they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent – I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense.'**

'**you can't blame them,' said Dumbledore gently. 'we've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years.'**

"that's four years from now" said Lily, "this will all be over in four years."

'**I know that,' said Professor McGonagall irritably. 'But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dresses in Muggle Clothes, swapping rumours,'**

**She threw a sharp sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on: ' A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really had gone, Dumbledore?'**

'**it certainly seems so,' said Dumbledore. 'We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a sherbet lemon?'**

"A what?" asked Sirius. "It's a Muggle sweet" replied Lily, Sirius nodded.

'**A What?'**

'**A sherbet lemon. They're a kind of Muggle Sweet I'm rather fond of.'**

'**No, thank you,' said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for sherbet lemons. 'As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone -' **

'**My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by is name? All this "You-Know-Who" nonsense – for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort.'**

Molly, Arthur, Alice and Frank all flinched. "Why do you guys flinch it is just a name" said Lily. "Wow did Lily just say that" asked James looking down at her. "I did. It is just a name, he is a bad guy but it is his name not him!" Lily said. Sirius, James and Remus all smiled at her. "Remus can you continue?" Remus began

**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unstacking two sherbet lemons, seemed not to notice. 'it all gets so confusing if we keep on saying "You-Know-Who". I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name.' **

Nobody flinched at the name. Lily smile.

'**I know you haven't,' said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. 'But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know – oh, all right, Voldemort – was frightened of.'**

'**You flatter me,' said Dumbledore calmly. 'Voldemort had powers I will never have.'**

"Only because you are too noble to use them" Lily said. Remus smiled at the next line.

'**Only because you're too – well- noble to use them.' ** Lily Smiled.

'**It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfery told me she liked my new earmuffs.'**

"Ahhh Merlin I did not want to that" said Sirius. Everyone laughed.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, 'The owls are nothing to the **_**rumours**_** that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?'**

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever 'everyone' was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another sherbet lemon and did not answer. **

'**what they're saying,' she pressed on, 'is that last might Voldemort turned up to Godric's Hallow. He went to find the Potters. **

James held Lily tighter, around the waist. Remus held his breath.

**The rumour is that Lily and James Potter are – are –are that they're dead.' **

Everybody was in shock. "Remus please continue" Lily said.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

Lily got up and ran to her bedroom, James went up after her. "Lily, please open the door." She didn't, James opened the door and found Lily face down on her bed. He sat down on her bed and rubbed her back.

"Lily please talk to me" "sorry" Lily said as getting up. "Why aren't you mad at me?" asked Lily "Why would I be mad at you" "because you die because of me"

"What, what I could never be mad at you Lily, I love you." "You what?" "I love you Lily, I don't think that will ever change. Even though I know you won't love me back" "James what would you do if I said I love you" "I would kiss you and love you forever" said James. "I Love you James, I do, and I am sorry I just realised it, I am sorry."

"Wait. What did you just say?" "I LOVE YOU JAMES" said Lily with a smile on her face. James's face lit up. "Can I kiss you?" asked James. "Don't even have to ask" Lily said before pressing her lips gently to James'. The kiss got more passionate, but James pulled away, Lily had a worried look on her face. "Love don't worry we have to finish the book."

Lily smiled and gave James a peck on the lips, got up from the bed and held her hand out to James. James grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room, with her laughing. James sat back in the arm chair and pulled Lily onto his lap.

Everybody was smiling at them and Lily blushed and hid her head into James shoulder. James said "Remus can you continue" Remus nodded with a big smile on his face.

'**Lily and James … I can't believe it … I didn't want to believe it … Oh, Albus …' **

"Seemed like she really cared about us" Lily said looking at James. "Yer I thought she did not like me." Said James. "She could never hate you James, you are her best student." Said Lily. "Thanks love"

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. 'I know … I know … he said heavily. **

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. 'That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son,**

"No please not Harry please." Said Lily worried. "I said he tried" said Remus.

"Sorry I am just worried" said Lily. "Don't worry love I am worried too." Said James and nodded to Remus to continue.

**Harry. But - he couldn't. He couldn't kill the little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke – and that's why he's gone.'**

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

"Merlin our son killed Voldemort" said James looking at Lily. "James I love your son." Said Sirius very happily. Everybody laughed. Remus started again…

**It's – it'd true?' faltered Professor McGonagall. 'After all he's done … all the people he's killed … he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding … of all the things to stop him … but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?'**

'**We can only guess,' said Dumbledore. 'We may never know.' Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great stiff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, 'Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?' **

'**Yes,' said Professor McGonagall. 'And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?'**

'**I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle.**

"WHAT, NO WAY. PLEASE NO." said Lily and then burst out crying. James was holding onto her. "where am I, why can't I look after him." Said Sirius. "I don't know Padfoot," said James, "can you continue Remus" Remus nodded.

'**You don't mean – you can't mean the people who live here?' cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. 'Dumbledore – you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son – I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!'**

'**it's the best place for him,' said Dumbledore firmly. 'His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter.'**

"A letter, a letter can that really explain everything" yelled Lily. "Lil, love please calm down." Said James. "We will figure something out" said Alice. "Thanks Al" said Lily. "Remus please continue" Remus nodded.

'**A letter?' repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. 'Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous – a legend – I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in future – there will be books written about Harry – every child in our world will know his name!'**

'**Exactly,' said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. 'It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off he'll be, growing away from all that until he's ready to take it?'**

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed and then said, 'Yes – yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?' She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it. **

"He better not be hiding Harry under his cloak" said Lily

'**Hagrid's bringing him.'**

'**You think it – wise – to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?'**

"I would trust Hagrid with my life" said Lily, James, Sirius and Remus. They laughed and Remus smiled at the nest line.

'**I would trust Hagrid with my life,' said Dumbledore. **

'**I'm not saying his heart isn't in the in the right place,' said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, 'but you can't pretend he's not carless. He does tend to – what was that?'**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky – and a huge motorbike fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

"I want one, I want one"screamed Sirius. "Sirius Shut up" yelled Lily. And Sirius shut up and sat down.

**If the motorbike was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so **_**wild **_**– long tangles of bushy black hair and a beard hid most of face, he had hands the size of dustbin lids and feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets. **

'**Hagrid,' said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. ' At last. And where did you get that motorbike from?'**

'**Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore sir,' said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorbike as he spoke. 'Young Sirius Black lent it to me. **

"Whooooooooh it's mine"said Sirius, dancing around the room. Everyone laughed. After about five minutes, Sirius sat back down and smiled.

**I've got him, sir.'**

'**No problems, were there?'**

' **No, sir – house was almost destroyed but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we were flyin' over Bristol'**

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair**

"Arrhhhhhhhh" said Lily, "What?" said James, "his got your hair" replied Lily. And everybody laughed, even Lily.

**Over his forehead they could see** **a curiously-shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

'**is that where -?' whispered Professor McGonagall.**

'**Yes,' said Dumbledore. 'He'll have that scar forever.'**

'**Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?'**

'**Even if I could, I wouldn't. scars can come in useful. I have one myself above my left knee which is perfect map of the London underground. Well – give him here, Hagrid – we'd better get this over with.'**

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned towards the Dursley's house.**

'**Could I – could I say goodbye to him, sir?' asked Hagrid.**

**He bent his great shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

Sirius yelled"Hey, that is not fair dogs don't sound like that I…" Remus kicked him in the shin, and glared at Sirius. "umm it's just I like dogs" Sirius said quickly. And Remus quickly read on…

'**Shhh!' hissed Professor McGonagall. 'you'll wake the Muggles!'**

'**S-s-sorry,' sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large spotted handkerchief and **

**burying his face on it. 'But I c-c-can't stand it – Lily an' James dead – an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles –'**

'**Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid or we'll be found,' Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep,**

"HOW COULD HE LEAVE MY SON ON THE DOOR STEP" screamed Lily and jumped off James she kept on screaming thing out "Lily-Flower please calm down I know you are mad, I am too. But please calm down" said James while grabbing her arm and pulling her down to sit back on the couch with him. She calmed down and sat on James and laid her head on his chest and nodded for Remus to continue.

**took the letter out of his clock, tucked it inside Harry's blankets and then came to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously and the twinkling light that usually shine from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone.**

'**Well,' said Dumbledore finally, 'that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations.'**

'**Yeah,' said Hagrid in a very muffled voice. 'I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall – Professor Dumbledore, sir.'**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket,**

At this point all the girls had tears also streaming down there face, and James held onto Lily tighter.

**Hagrid swung himself onto the motorbike and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

'**I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall,' said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply. **

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the sliver Put-Outer. He clicked it once and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out the tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

'**Good luck, Harry,' he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak he was gone.**

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blanket without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on,**

'Awww" all the girls sighed and all the boys rolled their eyes at the girls. And Remus began again.

**Not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken up in a few hours' time by Mrs Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley … He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: 'To Harry Potter – the boy who lived.'**

"that's the end of the chapter" said Remus quietly laying the book on the table. After a few minutes of silent of note appeared on the book. Lily picked and read out loud

"**To the Gang,**

**You are not permitted to leave this room while reading that is why soon will appear food and beds to sleep in later. **

**From **

**A.S.P, J.S.P, L.L.P, R.M.W, H.B.W and T.R.L**"

"Ok: said Sirius "do you want to continue" everybody nodded and Alice picked up the book. "ok here we go **The Vanishing Glass…**


	3. The Vanishing Glass

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters they all belong to the beautiful and brilliant J.K Rowling.**

**A/N: Thanks for all the good Reviews. I am going to add Snape into the third book and maybe Dumbledore with the fifth book. I will also be adding Regulas in the last book as I think it is very important. Thanks again and here is the next chapter. xx**

"**The Vanishing Glass,**"Alice began

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-coloured bonnets — but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too. **

"Maybe on of us came and took him" said Sirius hoping

**Yet Harry Potter was still there,**

"Maybe not" said Sirius in a sad voice. Wondering where he was.

**asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.**

"**Up! Get up! Now!"**

"lovely way to wake up" said James.

**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.**

"**Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

"It's not a dream" Sirius said dramatically and everyone laughed

"Sirius you do know you are talking to a book" said Lily while laughing

Sirius Pouted

**His aunt was back outside the door.**

"**Are you up yet?" she demanded.**

"**Nearly," said Harry.**

"**Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

**Harry groaned.**

"**What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**

"**Nothing, nothing…"**

**Dudley's birthday — how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider**

"Why the hell is there a spider." Said James

**off one of them, put them on. Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.**

"I AM GOING TO KILL MY SISTER" screamed Lily while jumping off James. After that everyone was yelling and thinking of hexes for Petunia. After about 10 minutes everyone calmed down except Lily. She was still fuming but James grabbed her and pulled her down to his lap and kissed her on the head and muttered calming words to her. He nodded for Alice to begin.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike.**

**Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise — unless of course it involved punching somebody.**

**Dudley's favourite punching bag was Harry, **

"This just keeps on getting better" muttered Lily and James pulled her closer.

**but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast**.

"Seeker reflexes" said Sirius.

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age.**

"Nope that is just a Potter trait" said Sirius smirking. James threw a pillow at his head.

**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobby knees, black hair,**

"Just like his father" said Sirius, and James and Lily were both smiling at each other

**and bright green eyes.**

"Like Lily's" said James in a dreamy voice while looking deep into each others eyes

**He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose.**

Lily's clenched her fist. James touched her hand to calm her.

**The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning.**

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it**

"**In the car crash when your parents died," she had said.**

"I am going to kill Petunia. I don't believe that she told him we died like that" Lily said while letting a few tears roll down her face. James held onto Lily tighter.

**And don't ask questions."**

**Don't ask questions — that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.**

"**Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**

"That's not going to work" said in a high pitched voice. "It's part of the Potter curse" said Remus. "What Potter curse?" asked Molly speaking for the first time in a while. "The Potter curse ahhh. Black uncontrollable hair, small and thin, bad eye sight and always ends up with a red head." Said Sirius. " I get everything else but ending up with a read head I don't" said Frank confused. "My Dad married a rd head, my grandfather married a red head, his father, Yer you get the point." said James. "So that means that Harry will marry a read head." Said Lily looking up at James, and James nodded. Everyone laughed. Alice began reading again…

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way — all over the place.**

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head.**

"I say he looks like a pig in a wig" Said James and everyone laughed.

**Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel — Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

Everyone laughed. "seems like he has you humour Prongs" said Sirius causing more laughter

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.**

"**Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**

"Regulus does not even get that much" said Sirius. "Who's Regulus?" asked Frank."My git of a brother." Said Sirius looking angry. No decides to ask anymore questions.

"**Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, its here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy."**

"**All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.**

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?"**

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty… thirty…"**

"Merlin this kid is even dumber than Peter" said Sirius, "by the way where is Peter?" "The note said Peter was not allowed to be here." Replied Lily.

"**Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

"**Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled.**

"**Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.**

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR.**

**He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

"**Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him."**

**She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**

"**Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws,****and Tufty again.**

"**We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.**

"**Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there — or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**

"**What about what's-her-name, your friend — Yvonne?"**

"Please no she is just as bad as Petunia" Lily said. "You know her?" asked James, "Yes her and Petunia have been friends for ages they are just as bad as each other." Replied Lily.

"**On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.**

"**You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

"Good luck pup" said Sirius.

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.**

"**And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.**

"**I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "… and leave him in the car…"**

"His not a dog Petunia" said Lily looking angry.

"**That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone…"**

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying — it had been years since he'd really cried — but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.**

"His Probably faking" said Alice

**don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.**

"**I… don't… want… him… t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.**

**Just then, the doorbell rang — "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically — and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother.**

**Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**

"Told ya" said Alice

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

"**I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy — any funny business, anything at all — and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**

"**I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…"**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.**

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen.**

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses.**

**Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off.**

" I did that too." Said James. "it was before first year and she shave all my hair off, I didn't like it. I could not sleep that night. I kept thinking on what people will say. When I woke up in the morning it had all grown back." James finished with laugh everyone else in the room also laughed. "Like father, like son" said Lily giving James a peck on the lips.

**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls).**

"ewwww" said Sirius with a disgusted face.

**The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry.**

**Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney.**

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trashcans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump.**

"He flew" said Lily. "How do you know that?" Said Arthur.

"Because I did that." Said like it was nothing

. Everyone was staring at her. "What?" Lily asked. "I have not heard of anyone doing that what happen? Asked James looking at his future wife with praise.

"I was at the park with Petunia and we were on the swings. I was swing and I jumped off I kind of went further that, what I should have gone."

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.**

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles.**

"…**roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.**

"**I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**

"Not the best idea pup" said Remus

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

"See not the best idea." Said Remus

**Dudley and Piers sniggered.** "**I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream."**

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon — they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop.**

"At least it was something" said Lily. "I actually like them." Molly said.

**It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.**

Everyone laughed. "James your kid is the best." Said Sirius though his laughter. "Well he is a Potter," said James. "That's your big head, hope Harry is not like that." Said Lily

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favourite hobby of hitting him.**

**They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

"Git" said Sirius.

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can — but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.**

"**Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.**

"**Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**

"**This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away. **

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself — no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.**

**It winked.**

"It what?" Said Lily. "It winked" replied Alice reading from the book. "But… but snakes don't have eye lids. How can they wink?" Said Lily. "I don't know" said Remus and nodded for Alice to keep on reading.

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly:**

"**I get that all the time."**

"His talking to the snake." Said Frank with a confessed look.

"**I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."**

**The snake nodded vigorously.**

"**Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.**

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**

"**Was it nice there?"**

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see — so you've never been to Brazil?"**

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"**

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**

"**Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor.**

**What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened — one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.**

Everyone laughed. "James, Lily your son is the genius" said Sirius. " Why thank-you" said James and everyone laughed more.

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come… Thanksss, amigo."**

"His parseltongue. But that impossible I am not a parseltongue or anyone in my family and Lily is muggle born. I don't get it." Said James. " I don't get it either" said Remus. "Me too." Said Lily. "Let's keep reading."

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.**

"**But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"**

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**.

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go — cupboard — stay — no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead.**

"Merlin he remembered that." Said Lily with tears coming down her checks, James held her closer. " Please keep reading" said James to Alice,

**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all.**

This made Lily cry harder. "Shhh" said James "remember what the letter said we can change it." And Lily nodded for Alice to continue

**His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened;**

**the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too.**

**A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"That's it." Said Alice. "Let's read one more chapter before we eat." Said Lily and everyone agreed. "Who wants to read next?" asked Alice. "I will." Said Frank while grabbing the book from his Girlfriend. "Ok… **"Letters from No One**


	4. Letters From No one

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters they all belong to the beautiful and brilliant J.K Rowling.**

**A/N: Sorry for it being so late I am on holiday now and been busy. And when I was at school I was practising for test ect and doing homework. I also have been very excited about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 coming out so I have been getting ready for that. So here we go hope you like **

**xx**

**Letters from No One… **"What does that mean?" asked Sirius. "Well if you let us read we could find out." Lily replied and Sirius nodded for Frank to begin.

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.**

"Brat" said Molly and everyone looked at her even Arthur. "What?" she asked like nothing had happen.

**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader.**

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favourite sport: Harry Hunting.**

Sirius grabbed a piece of parchment, a quill and ink and started to write down some sort of notes. "What you doing Sirius?" asked James. "I am making a list of people I have to deal with after this." Sirius said. "Anyone wants to help." Everyone was looking at each other and they all said yes except Lily. "I don't think it is a good idea." "Come on love look how they are treating our son." Said James. "Yer, come on lil, they are not treating him right." Said Alice. "Oh ok, but nothing that will kill them." Said Lily, and everyone cheered. And Frank started to read again,

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school. **

"No Harry will be going to HOGWARTS" yelled Sirius. "Sirius SHUT UP" yelled Lily holding her wand out to him. Sirius wimped and hid behind Remus. Everyone chucked at Sirius.

**Dudley thought this was very funny.**

"**They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"**

"**No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick." Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said.**

"James your son is the best" said Arthur, laughing along with the others.

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's.**

**Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.**

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.**

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up. Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.**

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water.**

"**What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.**

"**Your new school uniform," she said.**

**Harry looked in the bowl again.**

"**Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."**

Everyone laughed at this, except Lily. "Lil what's wrong?" asked James. "Petunia wont like that. She hates sarcasm

"**Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."**

"See" Lily said looking at James

**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue.**

**He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High — like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.**

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.**

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.**

"**Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**

"**Make Harry get it."**

"**Get the mail, Harry."**

"**Make Dudley get it."**

"**Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."**

"He better not" said James. Lily put a hand on James' hand that was on her waist and he calmed down immediately. James gave her a smile and she gave him a soft kiss on his lips. Everyone was smiling at this. Frank thought it was the best opportunity to read…

**Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and —**_**a letter for Harry**_**.**

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives — he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:**

_**Mr. H. Potter**_

_**The Cupboard under the Stairs 4 Privet Drive**_

_**Little Whinging**_

_**Surrey**_

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink.**

**There was no stamp.**

**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter**_**H**_**.**

"HOGWARTS!" yelled Sirius with excitement and started dancing and singing Hogwarts again and again. "SIRIUS SJUT UP AND SIT DOWN!" yelled Lily. Sirius sat down straight away and Frank began reading again…

"**Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.**

**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.**

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard.**

"**Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…"**

"**Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"**

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter,**

**which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.**

"**That's**_**mine**_**!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.**

"**Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge.**

"**P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.**

"Drama Queen" said Molly and everyone looked at her giving her a questioning look. "What?" she said " She is being one and the why she treats her child and Harry. Merlin she is nuts." Everyone laughed at this and frank began to read …

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.**

"**Vernon! Oh my goodness — Vernon!"**

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick.**

"**I want to read that letter," he said loudly.**

"_**I**___**want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's**_**mine**_**."**

"**Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope.**

**Harry didn't move.**

"**I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.**

"**Let**_**me**___**see it!" demanded Dudley.**

"**OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry,**

**his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor.**

"**Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address — how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"**

"**Watching — spying — might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.**

Everyone laughed at this.

"**But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want —"**

**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen.**

"**No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer… Yes, that's best… we won't do anything…"**

" Has anyone ignored letters from Hogwarts before?" asked Remus. " I don't think so" said James. "What will happen if they get ignored?" questioned Arthur, "I guess we will find out." Said Lily

"**But —"**

"**I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

"STAMP OUT!" screamed getting off James and pacing around the room. :OH HOW AM I GOING TO KILL PETUNIA!" Lily kept muttering things until James went up to her and wrapped his arms around her. He brought her back to the couch and sat down and pulling her to sit in his lap. Lily laid her head on his chest and nodded for Frank to begin

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard.**

"**Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?"**

"**No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly.**

"**I have burned it."**

"**It was**_**not**___**a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it."**

"**SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling.**

**He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.**

"**Er — yes, Harry — about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking… you're really getting a bit big for it… we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom.**

"WHAT?" screamed Lily and James at the same time. "HE DID NOT JUST SAY THAT?" screamed Lily. James was pacing around in the corner. Alice went up to Lily and hugged her and she calmed down, but James on the other hand was flaming with temper. He then punched the wall, everyone in the room jumped. Lily went over to him and hugged him from his back "Please calm down love. You are scaring everyone and me." Lily said to James in almost a whisper. He stared to calm down and turned around and hugged Lily. "Sorry love" said James and kissed her on her head. Lily grabbed his hand and pulled him down on the couch and curled up in is lap. James put his arm around Lily. "Sorry everyone" said James. "Don't worry about it mate" said Sirius and everyone nodded. "You can continue Frank" said James and Frank nodded and started to read again…

"**Why?" said Harry.**

"**Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."**

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room. He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been cancelled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.**

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't**_**want**___**him in there… I**_**need**___**that room… make him get out…"**

"Brat" said Sirius "We know he is Sirius we know." Said Remus and Sirius pouted everyone laughed.

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.**

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back. Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly.**

**When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it.**

**They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive —'"**

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind. After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand.**

"**Go to your cupboard — I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley — go — just go."**

**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan.**

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights.**

**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first. His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door —**

"**AAAAARRRGH!"**

**Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat — something**_**alive**_**!**

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face. Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink.**

"**I want —" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes.**

**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day.**

**He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot.**

"**See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't**_**deliver**___**them they'll just give up."**

"**I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."**

"**Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.**

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom.**

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises.**

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two-dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor.**

"Are they really going to all this trouble to get rid of the letters" said Molly. "My sister hates everything to do with this world including me." Said Lily sadly. James pulled her closer and kissed her on the top of her head, lily nodded for frank to begin…

"**Who on earth wants to talk to**_**you**___**this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy.**

"**No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "no damn letters today —"**

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one —**

"Merlin that is wicked" said Sirius excitedly. "Sirius Calm down" said Lily smiling

"**Out! OUT!"**

**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall. **

James stated to shake and turn red with angry. "Clam down love" James heard a soft voice whisper in his ear, it was Lily he calmed down immediately

**When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.**

"Wicked" said James, Sirius and Remus together. They all looked at each other with shock, the rest started to laugh and then the boys joined in after about 5 minutes everyone calmed down and Frank began again

"**That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"**

**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.**

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while.**

"**Shake 'em off… shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.**

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering…**

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.**

"'**Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk."**

**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:**

_**Mr. H. Potter**_

_**Room 17**_

_**Railview Hotel**_

_**Cokeworth**_

Sirius started to laugh. Everyone looked at him. "Sirius why are you laughing" asked Remus. "They are so dumb they are going to find him wherever they go" replied Sirius laughing. "Sirius you are mad" said Lily. After they calmed down again Frank began reading

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared.**

"**I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room.**

"**Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her.**

**Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage.**

"**Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon.**

**Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared.**

**It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley snivelled.**

"**It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a**_**television**_**."**

**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it**_**was**___**Monday — and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days the week, because of television — then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday.**

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun — last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks.**

**Still, you weren't eleven every day.**

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling.**

**He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.**

"**Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"**

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain, there was no television in there.**

"**Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"**

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them.**

"**I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!"**

**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house.**

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms.**

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas.**

**He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shrivelled up.**

"**Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.**

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail.**

**Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all.**

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.**

Lily tensed up. James but an arm around her to comfort her she laid her head on his chest.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. **

Lily started to cry, James held her tighter and kissed her on top of her head.

**He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now.**

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did.**

**Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow.**

**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?**

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds… twenty… ten… nine — maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him**

— **three… two… one…**

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY" screamed Sirius. "SIRIUS SHUT UP" everyone screamed

**BOOM.**

"Merlin what's happening?" said Lily very worried about her son. James held her tight.

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

"That's the end of the chapter" said Frank. "I'm hungry" said Sirius. "Black your always hungry" said Alice. "We will read on more chapter because I will go mad if we don't then we can have lunch. Is that alright with you?" asked Lily. Everyone nodded but Sirius. Everyone glared at him. "OH alright. But only one more chapter" said Sirius. "ok who wants to read next?" Frank asked. "I will" said Alice grabbing the book from her boyfriend. She opened the book and read… "**The Keeper of the Keys…**


	5. The Keeper of Key

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters they all belong to the beautiful and brilliant J.K Rowling.**

**A/N:**** Sorry I have no updated in over a year, I have been sick, missed a lot of school and most of the time I was just too tired to write. But I am on Holidays now and I am hoping to finish this story by the end of January. I Hope I can get there. **

**Thank you for all the reviews I have gotten while I have been not writing. **

**I hope you enjoy.**

**xx**

**The Keeper of the Keys**

**BOOM. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.**

'Alice you need to scream' Sirius wined

'Sirius I am not going to scream' Alice said and kept on reading

**'Where's the canon?' he said stupidly.**

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands – now they knew what was in the long, thin package he had brought with them.**

**'Who's there?' he shouted. 'I warn you – I'm armed!'**

**There was a pause. Then –**

**SMASH!**

Alice raised her voice and everyone jumped

'You didn't have to scream that loud' Sirius said holding his hands to his ears.

Alice just smirked and kept on reading

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.**

**A giant of a man was standing on the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.**

'Hagrid!' James, Sirius and Remus all screamed

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.**

**'Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey ...'**

'oh Hagrid' Lily sighed and smiled

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.**

**'Budge up, yeh great lump,' said the stranger.**

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.**

**'An' here's Harry!' said the giant.**

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.**

**'Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby,' said the giant. 'Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mum's eyes.'**

Lily and James both smiled at this.

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.**

**'I demand that you leave at once, sir!' he said. 'You are breaking and entering!'**

**'Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune,' said the giant. He reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.**

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**

**'Anyway – Harry,' said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, 'a very happy birthday to yeh. Got sommat fer yeh here – I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right.'**

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with **_**Happy Birthday Harry**___**written on it in green icing.**

'That's Sweet of him' Lily said happily but was smiling sadly, she was upset that James and her won't be in Harry's life.

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, 'Who are you?'**

'Manner's Harry' Lily Said

'Lils you are talking to a book' said Alice looking up from the book

'Ow, Yer' Lily Blushed and hid her head into James.

Alice laughed and kept on reading.

**The giant chuckled.**

**'True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts.'**

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.**

Everyone laughed at this

**'What about that tea then, eh?' he said, rubbing his hands together. 'I'd not say no to something stronger if yeh've got it, mind.'**

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shrivelled crisp packets in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath.**

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs and a bottle of some amber liquid which he took a swig of before starting to make tea. Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, 'Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley.'**

**The giant chuckled darkly.**

**'Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' any more, Dursley, don' worry.'**

**He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said,' I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are.'**

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**

**'Call me Hagrid,' he said, 'everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts – yeh'll know all about Hogwarts o' course.'**

**'Er – no,' said Harry.**

'Manners Harry' Lily said.

**Hagrid looked shocked.**

**'Sorry,' Harry said quickly.**

**'**_**Sorry?**_**' barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursley, who shrank back into the shadows. 'Its them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't getting yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learnt it all?'**

**'All what?' asked Harry.**

**'ALL WHAT?' Hagrid thundered. 'Now wait jus' one second!'**

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**

**'Do you mean to ter tell me,' he growled at the Dursleys, 'that this boy – this boy! – knows nothin' abou' – about ANYTHING?'**

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.**

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, 'About**_**our**_**world, I mean.**_**Your**_**world. Myworld.**_**Yer parents'**_**world.'**

**'What world?'**

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.**

**'DURSLEY!' he boomed.**

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like 'Mimblewimble'. Hagrid stared wildly at Harry.**

**'But yeh must know about yer mum and dad,' he said. 'I mean, they're famous.**_**You're**___**famous.'**

'I am Famous Sirius; hear that, I'm famous' James Said to Sirius

**'What? My – my mum and dad weren't famous, were they?'**

**'Yeh don' know – yeh don' know ...' Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.**

**'Yeh don' know what yeh are?' he said finally.**

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.**

**'Stop!' he commanded. 'Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!'**

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.**

**'You never told him?' Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?'**

**'Kept**_**what**_**from me?' said Harry eagerly.**

**'STOP! I FORBID YOU!' yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.**

**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.**

'Drama Queen' Lily Muttered

**'Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh,' said Hagrid. 'Harry – yer a wizard.'**

**There was silence in the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.**

**'I'm a**_**what?**_**' gasped Harry.**

Everyone in the room laughed at this

'Oh, Harry' Lily said smiling

**'A wizard, o' course,' said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, 'an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mom an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yeh letter,'**

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to**_**Mr H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea.**___**He pulled out the letter and read:**

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**_

_**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**_

_**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)**_

_**Dear Mr Potter,**_

_**We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equiptment,**_

_**Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Minerva McGonagall**_

_**Deputy Headmistress**_

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered. 'What does it mean, they await my owl?'**

'That's his first question?' Sirius laughs

**'Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me,' said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl – a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl –**

**a long quill and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note which Harry could read upside-down:**

_**Dear Mr Dumbledore,**_

_**Given Harry his letter. Taking him to buy his things tomorrow. Weather's horrible. Hope**_

_**you are well.**_

_**Hagrid.**_

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.**

**Harry realised his mouth was open and closed it quickly.**

**'Where was I?' said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.**

**'He's not going,' he said.**

**Hagrid grunted.**

**'I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him,' he said.**

**'A what?' said Harry, interested.**

**'A Muggle,' said Hagrid. 'It's what we call non-magic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on.'**

**'We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish,' said Uncle Vernon, 'swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!'**

Lily tightly squeezed James hand

**'You knew?' said Harry. 'You**_**knew**_**I'm a – a wizard?'**

**'Knew!' shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. 'Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that – that**_**school**___**– and came home every holiday with her pockets full of frog-spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was – a freak! But my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!'**

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.**

**'Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as – as –**_**abnormal**___**– and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!'**

'That's… that's how Harry found' Lily Said with tears falling down her checks, James pulled her close lifted her chin with his finger and look straight into her eyes,  
>'Hey it's going to be alright, I promise, everything is going to be alright' James said to Lily, she nodded and he kissed her gently on the lips. He pulled back and pulled her close.<br>'Alice you can keep on going' Lily Said laying her head on James' chest. Alice Continued 

**Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, 'Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!'**

**'CAR CRASH!' roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. 'How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!'**

**'But why? What happened?' Harry asked urgently.**

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.**

**'I never expected this,' he said, in a low, worried voice. 'I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh,how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person to tell yeh – but someone's gotta – yeh can't go off to Hogwarts not knowin'.'**

**He threw a dirty look and the Dursleys.**

**'Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh – mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry parts of it ...'**

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds and then said, 'It begins, I suppose, with – with a person called – but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows –'**

**'Who?'**

**'Well – I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does.'**

**'Why not?'**

**'Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went ... bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was...'**

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.**

**'Could you write it down?' Harry suggested.**

**'Nah – can't spell it. All right –**_**Voldemort**_**.' Hagrid shuddered. 'Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this – this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too – some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didnt know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches... Terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him – an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyways.**

**'Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head Boy an' Girl at Hogwarts in their day!**

Lily and James both Smiled at this.

**Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before ... probably knew they were too close to Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.**

**'Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em ... maybe he wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Hallowe'en ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' – an' –'**

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.**

'Ow Hagrid' James Says

**'Sorry,' he said. 'But it's that sad – knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find – anyway –**

Everyone smiled at this because it was true since James changed he was one of the nicer people you could find, and Lily was always the nicest person.

**'You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then – an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing – he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it. I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touched yeh – took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even – but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age – **

**the McKinnons,**

Sirius, Lily and Alice all froze up at this, and tears welled up in their eyes.

Sirius got up and stomped out of the room. Tears poured down Lily's and Alice's faces.

'I Can't…can't believe she is dead, Marlene, I can't she's my best friend' Lily cried out. Alice come over and hugged Lily tightly, both of girls have been best friends with Marlene since first year, they just could not believe this is happening.

'I need to go and check up on Sirius, Lily will you be alright?' James asked

'I have Alice, go he needs you more than me right now' Lily Answered

James got up and Remus followed into the room Sirius was in. He was standing looking outside the window.

'Sirius' James Said stepping in the room. Sirius did not look around, he just stared outside. James walked up to him and put his hand on his Shoulder.

'She can't Die James, She just can't' Sirius said

'I know this hurts Sirius but know that we know, we can change it, we can change the future' Said Remus

'You're right' Said Sirius 'Thank you guys, we should get back'

'It's alright, come on lets go' said Remus and patted Sirius on the back. They all went back and Sat back down and Alice continued to read

**the Bones, the Prewetts **

Molly Started to cry and this, it was hard hearing about her brothers,  
>'Please keep on reading' Molly Said<p>

– **an' you was only a baby, an' you lived.'**

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he ever remembered it before – and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life – a high, cold, cruel laugh.**

'oh Merlin' Lily Said 'I cannot believe he remembers that'

**Hagrid was watching him sadly.**

**'Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot ...'**

**'Load of old tosh,' said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped, he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.**

**'Now, you listen her, boy,' he snarled. 'I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured – and as for all this about your parents, well, they were wierdos,**

**no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion – asked for all they got, getting mixed up with those wizarding types – just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end –'**

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella drom inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, 'I'm warning you, Dursley – I'm warning you – one more word ...'**

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**

**'That's better,' said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down on the floor.**

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.**

**'But what happened to Vol – sorry – I mean, You-Know-Who?'**

**'Good question, Harry. Disapeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see ... he was gettin' more an' more powerful – why's he go?**

**'Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' belive it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances.**

**Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.**

**'Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on –**_**I**___**dunno what it was, no one does – but somethin' about you stumped him, all right.'**

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake, A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?**

**'Hagrid,' he said quietly, 'I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard.'**

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled,**

**'Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared, or angry?'**

**Harry looked into the fire, Now he came to think about it... every odd thing that had even made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry ... chased by Dudleys gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach ... dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back ... and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realising he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?**

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.**

**'See?' said Hagrid. 'Harry Potter, not a wizard – you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts.' But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

**'Haven't I told you he's not going?' he hissed. 'He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish – spell books and wands and –'**

**'If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him,' growled Hagrid. 'Stop Lily and James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't even know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbled –'**

**'I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!' yelled Uncle Vernon.**

"Hagrid is not going to like that' sang/talked Sirius

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head. NEVER –' he thundered, ' – INSULT – ALBUS – DUMBLEDORE – IN –FRONT – OF – ME!'**

**He brought the umbrella down with a swishing through the air to point at Dudley – there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal and next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

Everyone starting to laugh at this 'That is the best thing ever' said Sirius through laughs, after 5 minutes of laughing they calmed down and Alice began to read again.

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind him.**

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.**

**'Shouldn'ta lost me temper,' he said ruefully, 'but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do.'**

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.**

**'Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts,' he said, 'I'm – er – not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letter to yeh an' stuff – one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take the job –'**

**'Why aren't you supposed to do magic?' asked Harry.**

**'Oh, well – I was at Hogwarts meself but I – er – got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man Dumbledore.'**

**'Why were you expelled?'**

'Hagrid won't answer him, we have asked him so many times and he never gives us the answer' said Remus.

**'It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow,' said Hagrid loudly. 'Gotta get up ter town, and get all yer books an' that.'**

**He took of his thick black coat and threw it at Harry.**

**'You can kip under that,' he said, 'Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets.'**


End file.
